Luggage strap with ratchet and lock

ABSTRACT

First and second separable portions such as opposite ends of a strap that is wrapped around one or more articles to be secured are overlapped. A ratchet is operable with the portions joined in overlapping relation for increasing the amount of the overlap, thereby effectively shortening the strap and taking up slack. A mechanical advantage is provided that makes it easy to tighten the strap securely around one or more articles. A lock can be locked to prevent, or unlocked to enable, separation of the portions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to joining first and second separableportions of the same item or of different items in overlapping relation.In its preferred embodiment, it relates to a novel and highly effectivestrap for wrapping around and snugly securing various articles such asluggage and protecting them against appropriation by unauthorizedpersons.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Straps, ropes, lines, etc. (herein collectively referred to as straps),for securing various articles are well known and very useful. Forexample, travelers use straps to reinforce luggage, to tie two or morepieces of luggage (or their handles) together so that they do not becomeseparated, or as means for suspending luggage, cameras, or other itemsfrom a shoulder or a hand. Students wrap straps around books or otherarticles to facilitate carrying them or simply to keep them together.Vacationing families use straps anchored to a roof rack for securingarticles on the roof of a station wagon. Shippers and warehousers usestraps to secure goods on a pallet so that they can be handled by aforklift without falling off the pallet.

In all of these examples, the ends of the straps are conventionallysecured to each other or to another anchoring structure by buckles orknots fastened or tied by hand, or by crimps or the like imposed byspecial, and expensive, strapping machinery. Unless strapping machineryis used, conventional straps are hard to tighten sufficiently to preventarticles from slipping out. After manually tightening straps to tie downa load atop a station wagon, for example, one often finds that thestraps still have considerable slack in them. Moreover, anyone, whetherauthorized or not, can usually manually undo straps that have beenmanually secured. Failure to tighten a strap enough may permit articlesto slip out so that they become damaged or lost. The ease with whichconventional straps can be undone leaves the articles they securevulnerable to theft.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to remedy the problems of conventionalstraps noted above. In particular, objects of the invention includeproviding a mechanism for taking up slack in a deployed strap andproviding a strap that can be securely tightened around one or morearticles and that cannot be loosened by unauthorized persons.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained byapparatus comprising first and second separable portions to be joined inoverlapping relation, a ratchet operable with the portions joined inoverlapping relation for increasing the amount of overlap, therebyeffectively shortening the strap and taking up slack, and a lock thatcan be locked to prevent, or unlocked to enable, separation of theportions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the separableportions are opposite ends of the same strap for wrapping around atleast one article, but the invention can also be used to join a strap toone or more separate anchoring structures or to join two strapstogether.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWING

A better understanding of objects, features and advantages of theinvention can be gained from a consideration of the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments thereof, in conjunction withthe appended figures of the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of apparatusconstructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation showing the apparatus in a firstconfiguration;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views corresponding to FIG. 3 and showing theapparatus in other configurations;

FIG. 6 is a partly sectioned view corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views, partly in section and with parts removed forclarity, taken generally along the lines 7—7 and 8—8, respectively, ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing theoperation of a pawl-release mechanism of the apparatus;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are views, partly in section and with parts removed forclarity, taken generally along the lines 10—10 and 11—11, respectively,of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 showing the operation of adetent of the apparatus for selectively holding or releasing a ratchetlever of the apparatus in or from a stored position; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are views, partly in section and with parts removed forclarity, taken generally along the lines 13—13 and 14—14, respectively,of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of apparatus 10 constructed inaccordance with the invention. It comprises a strap 12 for wrappingaround at least one article (not shown). The article or articles can be,for example, luggage with hard or soft sides, luggage handles, books,shipping cartons, pieces of furniture, articles of clothing, etc. Thearticles may be of the same or different design.

The strap comprises a flexible part 14 that in a typical application maybe made of a material such as a polyamide having great tensile strength.It has first and second separable end portions 16, 18 that arepreferably made of metal (especially the portion 16), a rigid plastic(especially the portion 18), or a combination thereof (the portion 16).The flexible part 14 of the strap 12 is connected to the rigid endportion 16 by an adjustable loop 17 and to the rigid end portion 18 by afixed loop 19. The apparatus 10 also comprises a ratchet 20 operablewith the first and second separable portions 16, 18 in overlappingrelation for increasing the amount of overlap, thereby effectivelyshortening the strap and taking up any slack that may be in it afterwrapping around one or more articles. This enables the strap to betightened securely around, say, soft luggage to compress it or hardluggage to keep it from popping open.

With the strap deployed, as by wrapping around one or more articles tobe secured, a lock 22 can be locked to prevent, or unlocked to enable,loosening the strap. Means 24 is provided for preadjusting the strap 12so that it is slightly longer than necessary to wrap around one or morearticles to be secured. The preadjusting means 24 can also be used toadjust the strap so that it can be used comfortably as either a handstrap or a shoulder strap for carrying luggage and other articles. Suchadjusting means 24 is conventional in shoulder straps forcomputer-carrying cases, some luggage, etc., and need not be describedin detail.

The ratchet 20 comprises a lever 26 pivotally connected to the strap 12near the first end portion 16, one or more claws 28, 30 integral withthe lever 26, and a row of inclined teeth 32 integral with the strap 12near the second end portion 18.

A pawl 34 is spring-biased towards the inclined teeth. The pawl 34 has asurface 36 with an inclination substantially the same as the inclinationof surfaces 38 of the inclined teeth 32. The other surfaces 40 of theinclined teeth are vertical, as is the surface 37 of the pawl. Thus aforce applied to the portion 18 in the direction of the arrow 42 (FIG.4) forces the pawl 34 upward, overcoming its spring bias and enablingthe portion 18 to move to the right. On the other hand, the verticalsurface 37 of the pawl 34 and the vertical surfaces 40 of the teeth 32lock up if an attempt is made to withdraw the portion 18 to the left.

In accordance with the invention, the ratchet 20 comprises the lever 26pivotally connected to the first portion 16, the claws 28, 30 integralwith the lever 26, the inclined teeth 32 integral with the secondportion 18, and the pawl 34 connected to the first portion 16. Theapparatus is constructed so that, when the first and second portions 16,18 are joined in overlapping relation, the lever 26 can be pivotedcounterclockwise (FIG. 5) to bring the claws 28, 30 into contact withrespective teeth of a first set 44 of the teeth 32 to increase theamount of the overlap, by forcing the second portion 18 to the rightrelative to the first portion 16, as indicated by the arrow 46 (FIG. 5),thereby effectively shortening the strap and taking up slack. First theclaw 28 engages a tooth 32, and if the lever 26 is pivoted farther in acounterclockwise direction, the claw 30 engages a succeeding tooth andpropels the portion 18 still farther to the right relative to theportion 16. Three or more claws (only two being shown) can easily beprovided. The ratcheting effected by operation of the lever 26 asdescribed above may be repeated as many times as may be necessary toachieve the desired amount of tightening. When, as illustrated in thefigures of the drawing, the apparatus employs a plurality of claws eachintegral with the lever, the lever can be pivoted to bring the clawssequentially and respectively into contact with successive teeth of thefirst set of teeth to increase the amount of overlap, and the pawl cansequentially engage successive teeth of the second set of teeth tomaintain the increased amount of overlap. With each incremental movementof the portions 16, 18 relative to each other over a distance equal tothe pitch of the teeth 32, the pawl 34 can engage a different tooth of asecond set of teeth 48.

The first and second sets of teeth 44, 48 can have any relativerelationship to each other along the row of teeth 32. If they are notwidely separated in the longitudinal direction, they are likely to haveat least one tooth in common, and perhaps several. In fact, theapparatus can be constructed so that the very tooth engaged and advancedby a claw is the tooth then held by the pawl. In such a case, the twosets of teeth 44, 48 may be identical. On the other hand, if the claw orclaws and the pawl are well spaced apart longitudinally along the row ofteeth 22, the first and second sets of teeth 44, 48 may have no teeth incommon.

The lever 26 has a hand-grasp portion 50 and is pivoted about an axis 52that is closer to the claw or claws 28, 30 than to the hand-graspportion 50, thereby conferring a mechanical advantage when thehand-grasp portion 50 is employed to pivot the lever 26. This feature ofthe invention makes it possible to tighten the strap around the articlemuch more securely than it can be tightened using conventional manualmethods. A straight pull on a strap confers no mechanical advantage. Aten-pound manual pull on a strap, for example, sets up a tension of tenpounds in the strap. On the other hand, if the hand-grasp portion 50 is,say, five times as far from the pivot axis 52 as is the claw 28 or 30,than a ten-pound manual pull on the hand-grasp portion 50 translates toa fifty-pound tension in the strap, a mechanical advantage of five.

The ratchet further comprises a release mechanism making it possible torelease the strap. The release mechanism comprises a release button 54spring-biased upward (FIGS. 9 and 12) and operable only when the lock 22is unlocked to withdraw the pawl 34 from the teeth 32. The releasebutton 54 is connected in any suitable way, either integrally or througha suitable articulation, to the pawl 34 so that, when the release buttonis moved down as indicated by an arrow 56, the pawl 34 is moved up andretracted from the teeth 32, allowing separation of the portions 16, 18.

However, the lock 22 prevents actuation of the release button 54 whenthe lock is in its locked condition. Any conventional lock can beemployed, but a combination lock, as indicated in the figures of thedrawing, is preferred.

The apparatus further comprises a detent 58 for retaining the lever 26in a stowed position illustrated for example in FIG. 4. The detent 58has beveled surfaces 58 a, 58 b and fits within a recess 60 havingcorrespondingly beveled surfaces 60 a, 60 b (FIG. 12). The detent 58 isspring-biased to the right as seen in those figures.

When the lever 26 is in its stowed position, shown for example in FIG.9, and the lock is locked, the detent cannot be retracted and the levercannot be withdrawn from the stowed position. When the lock is unlocked,the lever 26 can be freely pivoted counterclockwise about the pivot 52,since the surface 60 b in sliding over the surface 58 b can then forcethe detent 58 to the left (FIG. 12).

The lock 32 preferably comprises combination dials 62 (FIG. 1). Thecombination dials are connected to cogwheels 64 having respectiverecesses 66. The cogwheels 64 are initially turned relative to the dials62 to set in any desired combination. The lock cannot be operated unlessthe dials are turned so that the recesses 66 are aligned with tabs 68 ona lock plate 70. In that configuration, the detent 58 can be forced tothe left (FIG. 11) so that an inclined surface 72 integral with thedetent 58 reacts on an inclined surface 74 integral with the lock plate70 to force the lock plate downward (from the perspective of FIG. 11).This frees up both the lever 26 and the release button 54 for operationso that the lever 26 can be used to tighten the strap, or the releasebutton 54 can be pressed to undo the strap.

Thus there is provided in accordance with the invention a novel andhighly effective apparatus for joining first and second separableportions of the same article or of different articles in overlappingrelation. In particular, there is provided a novel and highly effectivestrap for wrapping around and snugly securing various articles such asluggage and protecting them against appropriation by unauthorizedpersons.

Many other embodiments of the invention as disclosed herein will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art upon the consideration of thisdisclosure. In particular, only one of the portions 16, 18 need be onthe strap 12. The other portion can be on an external anchoringstructure. For example, in one embodiment (not shown), the strap is notwrapped around an article, but stretched horizontally between twosupports in a substantially straight line (technically a catenarycurve), for use as a clothesline, which can easily be tightened usingthe ratchet. In such case the strap is preferably round in crosssection, but with at least one end constructed in accordance with thisinvention. The end so constructed is overlapped with structure, alsoconstructed in accordance with the invention, on a separate portion ofthe strap or on one of the supports. In a similar embodiment, the strapcan be used to secure one end of a hammock to a tree or other support orto secure articles to a roof rack atop a station wagon. In such case,one of the separable overlapping structures is attached to the strap andthe other is attached to a separable portion of the strap or to thehammock, the tree, or the roof rack. Clearly, the strap need not bephysically in one piece. If it is separable into, say, two pieces, anend of each piece can be secured in any conventional manner, and theapparatus of the invention can be used to join the other respective endsof the two pieces. Alternatively, respective first ends of the twopieces can be joined in any conventional manner, the second end of oneof the two pieces can be connected to an external support structure inany conventional manner, and the second end of the other piece can beconnected to the same or a different external support structure inaccordance with the present invention. Also, the invention can bereplicated to join any number of pieces end-to-end, although it need beemployed only once in a chain in order to take up slack.

The scope of the invention is therefore commensurate with the appendedclaims.

We claim:
 1. Apparatus comprising: first and second separable portionsto be joined in overlapping relation, wherein the separable portions areopposite ends of a strap for wrapping around at least one article; aratchet operable with the portions joined in overlapping relation forincreasing the amount of overlap; and a combination lock that can belocked to prevent, or unlocked to enable, separation of the portions;wherein the ratchet comprises a lever pivotally connected to the firstportion, a claw integral with the lever, inclined teeth integral withthe second portion, and a pawl connected to the first portion, theapparatus being constructed so that, when the first and second portionsare joined in overlapping relation, the lever can be pivoted to bringthe claw into contact with a tooth of a first set of said teeth toincrease the amount of overlap, and the pawl can engage a tooth of asecond set of said teeth to maintain the increased amount of overlap. 2.Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first and second sets haveat least one tooth in common.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid first and second sets have no teeth in common.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 comprising a plurality of claws each integral withthe lever so that the lever can be pivoted to bring the clawssequentially and respectively into contact with successive teeth of saidfirst set to increase the amount of overlap, and the pawl cansequentially engage successive teeth of said second set to maintain theincreased amount of overlap.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 whereinthe lever has a hand-grasp portion and is pivoted about an axis that iscloser to the claw than to the hand-grasp portion, thereby conferring amechanical advantage when the hand-grasp portion is employed to pivotthe lever.
 6. Apparatus comprising: first and second separable portionsto be joined in overlapping relation; a ratchet operable with theportions joined in overlapping relation for increasing the amount ofoverlap; and a lock that can be locked to prevent, or unlocked toenable, separation of the portions, wherein the ratchet comprises alever pivotally connected to the first portion, a claw integral with thelever, inclined teeth integral with the second portion, and a pawlconnected to the first portion, the apparatus being constructed so that,when the first and second portions are joined in overlapping relation,the lever can be pivoted to bring the claw into contact with a tooth ofa first set of said teeth to increase the amount of overlap, and thepawl can engage a tooth of a second set of said teeth to maintain theincreased amount of overlap, and wherein the ratchet further comprises arelease mechanism operable only when the lock is unlocked to enableseparation of the portions.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 whereinthe release mechanism comprises a release button operable only when thelock is unlocked to withdraw the pawl from the teeth.
 8. Apparatuscomprising: first and second separable portions to be joined inoverlapping relation; a ratchet operable with the portions joined inoverlapping relation for increasing the amount of overlap; a lock thatcan be locked to prevent, or unlocked to enable, separation of theportions, wherein the ratchet comprises a lever pivotally connected tothe first portion, a claw integral with the lever, inclined teethintegral with the second portion, and a pawl connected to the firstportion, the apparatus being constructed so that, when the first andsecond portions are joined in overlapping relation, the lever can bepivoted to bring the claw into contact with a tooth of a first set ofsaid teeth to increase the amount of overlap, and the pawl can engage atooth of a second set of said teeth to maintain the increased amount ofoverlap, and further comprising a detent for retaining the lever in astowed position when the lever is not in use to operate the claw. 9.Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the detent enables release of thelever from the stowed position only when the lock is unlocked.